Recently, I was asked to upgrade my Disney pass to help out with some extra stuff here at Touring Plans. I hadn’t bothered with a premium annual in years since it just meant access to DisneyQuest and the water parks. I’d remembered DisneyQuest as a let down with lots of broken machines and outdated technology. […]

Recently, I was asked to upgrade my Disney pass to help out with some extra stuff here at Touring Plans. I hadn’t bothered with a premium annual in years since it just meant access to DisneyQuest and the water parks. I’d remembered DisneyQuest as a let down with lots of broken machines and outdated technology. It was a couple months after upgrading that I decided to finally stop in and see if anything had changed. I don’t know if it was just because of the time that had passed or due to recent changes, but I had a great time and wondered why I’d written the place off so many years ago. So with a fresh perspective I thought I’d share what you can expect from the five floors of fun at DisneyQuest!

Floor 1:

Virtual Jungle Cruise: While this does remind me of technology from the Xbox Kinect game, Disneyland Adventures, it has a unique twist. You actually climb aboard a boat and paddle with real oars down the virtual river! Oddly, the only animals I’ve ever seen during this experience are dinosaurs. Still, it’s fun to work together with the rest of the boat to decide which direction to go. Each boat faces a large projection screen. This ride isn’t a technological wonder but it’s fun if you don’t overthink it.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold: I really like this one! To begin you enter an room with a small pirate ship bow built inside. Hanging off both sides of the boat are cannons. They remind me of the ones used at Toy Story Midway Mania. Projections screens come to life all around the boat and it’s up to you to defend your crew. This game is tough if your group is small, so the more the merrier for this game! Not mentioned on the maps are additional arcade games on this floor. They normally aren’t as busy and are mostly jungle themed.

Floor 2:

Radio Disney SongMaker: I still have my CD from many, many years ago! This is a great stop for a fun, unique souvenir. Each group is able to enter a recording booth where you name a song, create your lyrics, choose your singer, and change the style of your music. Every time this song pops up on my iPod I smile and remember how much fun we had. I haven’t tried it recently, but I plan to. Let me know in the comments below if there is anything specific you’d like to see.

Animation Academy: Much like at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this is where you can learn to draw your favorite Disney characters. The difference is that rather than pen and paper you’ll encounter a screen to draw on with a stylus. It can be a bit of a challenge to get used to but it’s much easier to erase and there’s even an undo button!

Living Easels: This one was more fun many moons ago, but these days most iPads can pretty much do the same. Here easels setup with large screens for virtual finger painting. There are different stickers you can add in and then you can animate your work of art. I’m sure kids will still have fun with the large screens even though they’re jaded with all their modern gadgets.

Sid’s Create-A-Toy: Remember the naughty kid from Toy Story? Well here you get to create bizarre and unique toys just like he did. Everything is virtual with a fun joystick interface that allows you to select toy parts and put together your Frankenstein creation. They used to actually sell bags of toy pieces to take home but I didn’t see that on my most recent visits.

Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride: If you think back 10+ years and remember what we all thought virtual reality would look like, this attraction will be familiar. Here you sit on a “magic carpet” that looks a bit like a bike from all the driving games and put on a huge, doofy headset. The headset juts out in front of your face for nearly a foot to contain all the visual content. Once suited up you’re ready to go on your adventure. Fair warning: the older graphics lead to motion sickness in a lot of people.

CyberSpace Mountain: One of the most popular attractions in DisneyQuest, this is much like Sum of all Thrill at Epcot. First you are able to design your roller coaster ranging from mild to wild and then you load up for a virtual ride on what you’ve created. Unlike at Epcot, you are contained within the ride vehicle (no dangling legs). However, you are still required to leave your belonging in a locker prior to riding.

Floor 3:

The Underground Arcade: Many of the standard arcade games tend to bleed together for me. I will say that we noticed several games from our local Dave & Busters in this section that we’d normally pay to play. In the past I noticed older and broken games here but it seems to be well maintained these days.

Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam: This is a remarkable centerpiece for the arcade, but if I’m being honest I’ve never understood how to play it. The idea is that you’re a human pinball with a two story pinball machine projected on the screen in front of you. Each player mounts a small, round playing platform and is supposed to control the movement of their ball by changing the direction of their platform. What ends up happening is everyone jumps aboard and bounces around for a few minutes to loud music and flashy lights. It’s a neat experience, but a confusing one! (Maybe I’m just getting old?)

Race Zone: If I ever lose my hubby in DisneyQuest, I know I can find him here. This is the ultimate race track including Nascar, Star Wars, and just about everything else. This area actually puts our local Dave & Busters to shame. If someone in your family loves to race then this section alone will be worth the trip. The machines are tied together so that players can race each other. In the case of Nascar, 10 machines are all racing on the same track!

Classic Games: Just like the name indicates, here you can play classic games on free play. There are more of these classic games to be found on the 5th floor.

Buzz Lightyear’s AstroBlaster: These are only the best bumper cars in history!! Not only do you have the standard bumper car aspects, each car is equipped with a cannon! The ride vehicles are enclosed and the track is covered with “asteroids”, when your bumper car drives over an asteroid it picks it up and you’re able to load it into the cannon. If you shoot another ride vehicle with the asteroid you picked up they will spin uncontrollably for a few seconds. Of course, the asteroids are just rubber balls, but this game is a riot! It does tend to get a line, though. Make sure you prioritize it early in the day.

Floor 4:

Sports Arena Arcade: This is just what the name indicates. Head here for baseball, basketball, bowling, and even fishing. There are tons of games packed into this area and some are brand new. Again, I’m impressed that Disney seems to be investing in some quality games.

Kid’s Area: I would describe this area as Chuck E. Cheese. It’s filled with all the little games that kids love and we all grew up playing. If you have a little one head here and they’ll be entertained for hours!

Wonderland Cafe: Need a snack? This is your best option in DisneyQuest. While I don’t think the food is great, you can’t beat the atmosphere. Quiet, dreamlike music wafts through the cafe and you almost forget there’s a loud arcade filled with kids just inches away! Be sure to visit even if you aren’t hungry just to see the divine theming.

Floor 5:

Invasion! An ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter: Much like everything in DisneyQuest, this is showing its age. However, the concept remains unique and exciting. You group is seated into a small 360 degree theater and you’re dropped on an alien planet to fight your way out. I won’t give away too much but it’s a must do.

Classic Games: Just like on the 3rd floor here you’ll find classic games on free play. There are even pinball machines up on the 5th floor!

FoodQuest: This is another dining option but without the magical theming you’ll find at Wonderland Cafe. Years ago this was run by Cheesecake Factory and the food was amazing! These days it’s a standard Disney outlet with staples like hamburgers. Nothing terrible if you are stuck and hungry, but nothing special.

So there you have it, a complete look at what DisneyQuest has to offer! Are you thinking of visiting? Do you have any questions that I can research for you? Which game sounds like the most fun to you? Please let us know in the comments below and as always thank you for reading and commenting.

Hi, Everyone! Welcome to the Best Week Ever here at Walt Disney World! First, I owe you an apology. I had a family member go into the hospital for emergency surgery, so I’ve missed the last couple weeks. That not only took me away from my writing, but I also had to cancel my solo Disneyland […]

Hi, Everyone! Welcome to the Best Week Ever here at Walt Disney World! First, I owe you an apology. I had a family member go into the hospital for emergency surgery, so I’ve missed the last couple weeks. That not only took me away from my writing, but I also had to cancel my solo Disneyland trip. They are recovering well, and I’m back on duty bringing you all the best of Disney weekly! Boy, I missed you guys! But don’t worry, I have one epic update for you! This week we’re getting wild at Animal Kingdom, cooling off with a little Frozen at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios, seeing what’s new at Magic Kingdom, and finishing up at DisneyQuest.

Now, let’s get started on the best week ever! For the past several weeks I’ve been stopping into Animal Kingdom around 6:00pm. This time of year the park is often open until 8:00pm, but the crowds tend to leave the park early. It’s become a tradition to hop on Kilimanjaro Safaris then dash over for the last showing of Festival of the Lion King. Since I hadn’t taken you guys there in a little while, I thought it was fitting to feature Animal Kingdom this week. All of the photos used were taken on the same evening (no cheating)! The safari was really this good! With the hot weather I’ve found after 6:00pm is when the animals are most active. Above is my favorite photo of the week of a female greater kudu. I love how she’s peeking back through the trees. Below is one of the female elephants and, if you can believe it, cheetahs that are actually awake!

Is it just me, or do these giraffes look like they’re gossiping? These guys are the one exception on my active evening safaris. The gate where they go in is just to the left of where they are pictured below. In the evenings they tend to just go stand around this gate waiting to get inside. The Ankole cattle, on the other hand, were still out adventuring! I’d noticed them missing for a while and heard a rumor that Disney is starting to cycle animals to stay out late. This schedule change would be in preparation for later Avatar related hours. I’m not sure how much truth is in that, but it would be amazing if Disney was working this early to prepare the animals!

Here are the last couple animals from my evening safari. I’m happy to report that the zebras seem to be fitting in better. They’d moved around a lot and always seemed to be far back away from the vehicles until recently. Unlike the white rhinos, which get closer than most of the animals!

Did I get to see your favorite animal on my evening safari? I hope so! If not, let me know in the comments below. It’s never too long before my next safari, and I’ll keep an eye out for you. Below you can see just some of the construction walls all over Animal Kingdom. Everyone is aware of Avatar being built, but lots of the park is quietly going behind walls. There haven’t been a lot of reports of what will emerge from all this construction. It’s good to see work going on in the parks, and I’ll keep you posted on what develops.

Outside the park you can see several cranes over the future site of Avatar. I’m always struck walking in when I see all the equipment. Animal Kingdom is so lush that I never notice this construction equipment from inside the park. If they could find a way to mask it from the outside, you’d never even know it was happening. The parking lot construction (pictured right, below) is a little more difficult to miss. They’ve just started work paving the grassy area that was left here. I can’t remember when Animal Kingdom was parked to capacity, but again they’re preparing for Avatar.

I couldn’t let my last view of Animal Kingdom this week be construction photos! So how about a couple shots from Festival of the Lion King? Even at the last show of the day these guys are still giving it their all! It’s easily the best show on Disney property. If you’d like to see more photos from the show, I posted some here when it reopened. I’m also curious if you guys would rather see a ride through of Expedition Everest or something else? I tend to stop into Animal Kingdom at least one night a week and do the same things over and over. But I’ll break my pattern if anyone has a request. Let me know in the comments below.

Next let’s stop over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant got its missing sign back. The colors are so vibrant now! It obviously just needed a little TLC, and it’s nice to see needed maintenance getting done. It seems like the Frozen gals are bringing some much needed attention to the park.

Guardians of the Galaxy has also arrived at the park! The preview has been there for a few weeks, but I noticed the addition of this magic photo wall. While I didn’t have a PhotoPass card, I found this online. It seems like a fun photo, especially for little boys that will likely love this movie! Heck, looking at the preview it seems like everyone will love it!

I’d noticed on my last visit that the Frozen VIP experience was indoors in the Disney Jr. Theater. It seemed like a great idea to me because guests were able to relax in the air conditioning; in front of the stage, it was hat, and there wasn’t as much room. It must have just been a test, or they were worried about the weather, because this week tables were set in front of the stage again. Also, I came across Frozen temporary tattoos this week! I haven’t seen these anywhere else yet, and there was a great selection. I know these are meant for kids, but I’ll admit I was tempted. I mean, they have Sven! Doesn’t everyone need a little more Sven in their life?

Now let’s check out what’s new at Magic Kingdom. This weekend was my first time seeing the new construction walls in Fantasyland. The popular rumor is that Peter Pan’s Flight is finally getting a highly anticipated interactive queue. Fingers crossed that one is true! Close by, the old Snow White gift shop has finally gone behind walls. Is it just me, or does this look like a likely location for Arendelle? Disney had better hurry, though! The shine might be wearing off the Frozen princesses a bit. This weekend the line was 90 minutes to meet them at opening and dropped to 75 minutes by lunch time.

I also stopped by to see the newly reopened PeopleMover. This is one of my favorite rides, so I was excited to report back any changes. What I have for you is… paint. Yep, that’s it. A new, bright exterior is the only visible change made during the refurbishment. When I first looked at it in person, I was shocked. But after a little time to adjust, I like the new colors. At least it’s bright and cheery rather than just gray. What do you think?

I’d also heard that over in Storybook Circus new furniture was added to the old FASTPASS machine location. It looks like pieces of furniture from all over property have come here to die. Honestly, it’s a random hodgepodge like I’ve never seen at Disney. But most of the chairs are comfortable, and there are lots of places to charge your phone. Once the weather cools off, this will be a nice, shady spot to rest. I also stopped in to meet Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy since I was in the neighborhood. Would I be a bad blogger if I admitted I’d never stepped foot in this meet and greet before this weekend? If you (like me) haven’t tried this meet and greet, then put it on your list! This is the cutest character spot I’ve ever seen. We had such a great time with the characters!

Our last stop this week is DisneyQuest. I hadn’t stopped by here in years, and my last memory was that it was lame. But I think a lot of that came from getting used to it and losing the slack jawed wonder of just walking in this place. When you first enter, the photo below is looking up at the two stories above you. Dreamy music is playing throughout the building. It reminds me of a casino in Las Vegas: inside you lose all sense of time.

Inside are five floors full of video games, interactive experiences, and classic games. The design of the building isn’t like anything else on Disney property. Even if I wasn’t there to play I’d want to walk around and explore. It only took a few minutes to wonder why I’d written this place off years ago and start having fun.

Our first stop was the Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters. These are bumper cars with a twist: each car has a cannon that shoots balls at other cars. If your car is hit, it will spin for a few seconds before continuing on. Below is a view from the floor above, watching other people play.

There are also tons of current video games, most which we’ve paid to play at Dave & Buster’s. The NASCAR game below allows ten people to race at the same time. There are also classic games, pinball machines, and standards like skee-ball all on free play. Unlike other arcades, you do not win tickets, but I think it’s worth it for free play. Who ever won anything good from tickets, anyway?

Speaking of pinball, here is a giant game where you get to be the pinball! (One fun note: the player in the upper right that seems to be barely moving… she beat all of them!)

One last little hiding place is the Wonderland Cafe. The food offered is mostly desserts, and it doesn’t start serving until 2:00pm, but the seating area might be one of my favorite in all of Disney property. Of course, you’re welcome to hang out in these plush chairs before they open. With a Starbucks across the street, this would be the perfect haven for a parent to have a relaxing morning while the kids enjoy the arcade. We’ll be back to DisneyQuest for sure! Would you guys like to see more? Let me know in the comments below!

That’s all for this week. If you’re heading to Disney World next week, here’s a look at what you can expect:

Crowd Calendar: We’re finally getting a little relief from the crowds, with some days dipping all the way down into the 4 range! Maybe now I can get a FastPass+ for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!

Weather: Ya’ll – it’s gonna rain! I know, I keep saying the same thing, but be prepared for very hot temperatures and daily showers. More often the rain seems to be lingering for hours, so be ready.

Remember: Halloween will be here before you know it! Be sure to book your Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party tickets. You don’t want to miss this annual event.

Here’s my top tip for this week: If you see some beautiful sky but aren’t in a great spot to take photos, head for the monorail. This week I was at Magic Kingdom when an incredible sunset exploded in the sky. I took a trip on the resort monorail with some great results. By the time we pulled back into the Magic Kingdom I was taking photos of the moon! Amazing skies die fast around here.

Do you have any news I missed or any requests for coverage next week? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, and thanks so much for reading! I’m wishing all of you the Best Week Ever, until next time!

New Year’s Eve is just three short weeks away, and those lucky enough to be at Walt Disney World during this time are in for some amazing treats! Here is an idea of some of the fun you can expect to see at Walt Disney World for New Year’s Eve. Magic Kingdom Celebrate 2014 with […]

New Year’s Eve is just three short weeks away, and those lucky enough to be at Walt Disney World during this time are in for some amazing treats! Here is an idea of some of the fun you can expect to see at Walt Disney World for New Year’s Eve.

Magic Kingdom

Celebrate 2014 with a bang…literally…as the Magic Kingdom will show not one, but two fireworks spectaculars on two separate nights. On December 30 and 31, guests may take in Holiday Wishes: Celebrate The Season at 9 p.m. and then Fantasy in the Sky, which is scheduled for 11:50 p.m.

Epcot

This year, World Showcase will feature a variety of DJs found situated throughout the different pavilions. Guests can dance in the New Year at the Future World Fountain Stage, near the Italy Stage, at the America Gardens Theatre, and by the United Kingdom Stage, among others. As we mentioned a few weeks back, many World Showcase restaurants are also offering special dining opportunities.

Two showings of IllumiNations will light up the sky on New Year’s Eve, ending with the Holiday Tag after the 6:30 p.m. show and the New Year’s Eve Countdown spectacular after the 11:40 p.m. show.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

This park always has a special fireworks display to ring in the New Year, and this year is no exception. Start the evening right by taking in a rockin’ performance during the Mulch, Sweat and Shears New Year’s Eve Spectacular. The fun starts at 6:00 p.m. and goes all the way to midnight, ending with the Lights! Camera! Happy New Year! Fireworks showcase.

Downtown Disney

At Downtown Disney, special New Year’s Eve celebrations are taking place at House of Blues, Raglan Road, Bongos Cuban Cafe, and Paradiso 37. Also, DisneyQuest will hold a ticketed New Year’s Eve event with food, games, music, dancing, meet and greeting Disney characters, and a New Year’s Eve countdown.

A fantastic party looks to be brewing at Walt Disney World with this year’s New Year’s festivities. The question is which one to choose?

In the triumvarate of Walt Disney World ticket modifications you have the Park Hopper, the No Expiration option, and the Water Park Fun & More option. The first two modifications are fairly straightforward, the Park Hopper allows you to visit more than one park per day, the No Expire allows your tickets to have no […]

In the triumvarate of Walt Disney World ticket modifications you have the Park Hopper, the No Expiration option, and the Water Park Fun & More option. The first two modifications are fairly straightforward, the Park Hopper allows you to visit more than one park per day, the No Expire allows your tickets to have no expiration date. But what’s that Water Park Fun one? Do I need it? Is it worth it? Why should I get it? Let’s figure this all out.

Lots of Fun at Blizzard Beach

The basic information is this:

Neither water park nor DisneyQuest admission is included in with the basic or Park Hopper theme park ticket.

To get into a water park or DisneyQuest you’ll need either a separate water park or DisneyQuest ticket, or you’ll need to purchase the Water Park Fun & More add-on for your basic or Park Hopper theme park ticket.

The Water Park Fun & More (heretofore known as WPF&M) add-on is purchased for a flat rate, regardless of the number of days you have on your basic ticket or Park Hopper.

Currently, the WPF&M option costs $55.00 per person, plus tax. The child and adult price is the same. Florida residents may pay a lower price.

For your flat fee, you get a variable number of “Fun” admissions, based on the number of days on your basic or Park Hopper ticket.

The number of Fun visits is commensurate with the number of theme park days on your ticket. For example, four day ticket with the WPF&M add-on will have four Fun visits. A five day ticket with the WPF&M add-on will have five Fun visits, and so on.

A Fun visit can be either: a one-day admission to one of the water parks, a one-day admission to DisneyQuest, a one-day admission to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (ESNPWWoS), or one round at Disney’s nine-hole Oak Trail golf course.

Your theme park visits and Fun visits do not have to be on the same day, or even consecutive days.

All theme park and Fun visits must be completed within 14 days of the first use of the ticket, unless you’ve purchased the No Expire option as well.

Given those parameters, let’s consider some of the ways you could use your ticket with the WPF&M add-on:

The Water Park Fun and More option includes admission to DisneyQuest

Visit Epcot – Use one theme park admission.

Visit Epcot in the morning and the Magic Kingdom in the afternoon – Use one theme park admission IF YOU HAVE A PARK HOPPER TICKET. This is not a possible scenario if you only have a basic theme park ticket.

Visit Blizzard Beach – Use one Fun admission.

Visit Epcot in the morning and Blizzard Beach in the afternoon – Use one theme park admission and one Fun admission.

Visit Blizzard Beach in the morning and DisneyQuest in the afternoon – Use two Fun admissions.

Visit Blizzard Beach in the morning, DisneyQuest in the afternoon, and Epcot in the evening – Use two Fun admissions and one theme park admission.

Visit Blizzard Beach in the morning and Typhoon Lagoon in the afternoon – Use two Fun admissions.

Visit Blizzard Beach in the morning, go to your hotel and take a nap, come back to Blizzard Beach later in the day – Use one Fun admission.

Now that you get the idea, you probably have some questions.

Is getting the WPF&M add-on worth it?

That depends on how much you’ll be visiting the water parks, DisneyQuest, ESPNWWoS, or the Oak Trail golf course. Currently, a single-day admission to a water park costs about $52 for adults (ages 10 and up) and about $44 for children (ages 3-9). A single day-day admission to DisneyQuest is currently about $46 for adults (ages 10 and up) and about $39 for children (ages 3-9). A round at the Oak Trail golf course is currently $38. Pricing ESPNWWoS is currently about $15 for adults (10 and up) and about $10 for children (ages 3-9).

It’s pretty easy to see that if you’re going to be visiting a Fun location only once during your trip, a single-day admission is most economical. If you’re going to be visiting more than once, the WPF&M add-on is the way to go.

You can go to ESPN WWoS with a Water Park Fun ticket, but there might not be much to do.

My family has six-day Park Hoppers. Can only one of us get the WPF&M add-on and share those six Fun admissions with the rest of the gang?

Nope, sorry. Each ticket can only be used by one person.

I think I want to go to the water parks, but I don’t know what the weather will be like during my trip. Should I buy the WPF&M add-on?

I generally advise guests to wait until they arrive to decide if they want the WPF&M add-on. Your base ticket or Park Hopper can be upgraded to the WPF&M add-on at any ticket window or guest relations office at WDW. This way you’ll have both a clearer picture of the weather situation during your travel and a better handle on what your actual schedule is going to be like.

If you do decide to purchase the WPF&M add-on prior to your arrival, be sure to select this option on the handy-dandy TouringPlans Disney World Ticket Calculator. Click the “Show Advanced Options” buttons for detail-level planning.

I have a six day Park Hopper and the WPF&M add-on. Does this mean I can be busy for twelve days?

Kinda, yeah. Personally, I think it would be tough to spend six full days at the water parks and DisneyQuest without going a little nuts. But if that’s your thing, then go for it. If you’re looking for economical ways to extend your vacation activities, the WPF&M option is a fantastic way to do this.

I have an eight day Park Hopper and eight fun admissions. I can’t possibly use them all. Are these admissions going to go to waste?

Probably. Of course, you do have the option of upgrading your ticket to the No Expire option. With the No Expire option, your remaining Fun visits are valid into perpetuity, until you use them. The kicker is that adding the No Expire option to an eight day ticket currently costs about $200. Obviously, that’s significantly more than the flat $55 fee to re-purchase the WPF&M option during your next visit. It’s also about the same price as four separate single-day water park tickets. This means it’s likely more economical to let unused WPF&M visits expire and go to waste rather than try to preserve them.

You can't share one Water Part Fun ticket with multiple people. Everyone will need their own.

I have an eight day Park Hopper and eight fun admissions. Can I get sixteen days of play out of them?

No. Tickets are only good for 14-days from first use. In your situation, if you do want to take advantage of all of your Fun admissions, you’ll have to use some of them on the same day that you use a regular theme park admission.

Can I go see a bunch of Atlanta Braves preseason games at ESPNWWoS using my WPF&M tickets?

No. The WPF&M admission basically just allows you to walk around the grounds and possibly see some children’s or amateur games being played. There are separate tickets with premium pricing required for premium events.

So that’s the scoop. What have your experiences been with Fun visit ticketing? Do you usually purchase the WPF&M option? Do you find that it’s worth it? Let us know in the comments below.

UPDATE JUNE 2012: The Water Park Fun & More add-on now includes the Fantasia Gardens and Winter Summerland miniature golf courses at Walt Disney World. Guests are limited to one round per day, prior to 4:00 p.m.